AT LEAST 18 illegal gold miners were killed by Government security forces in an attempt to take control of the area which is notorious for violence and gang rivalries, a lawmaker and local media said.

Local newspaper Correo del Caroni reported that 17 men and one woman died

Local newspaper Correo del Caroni reported that 17 men and one woman died in the incident on Saturday morning in an area known for gold and diamond mining.

Opposition lawmaker, Americo De Grazia accused the security forces, saying: “Massacres are the narco-dictatorship's state policy.”

The shooting took place in the Bolivar state on Saturday when the army travelled to the Cicpra mine after receiving information that an armed gang was threatening wildcat miners in the remote area, an officer said.

The officer added that none of those killed carried identification but one is believed to be a woman known locally as “the boss”.

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She is suspected of taking control of the area following the murder of her brother last year.

Her brother was Anderson Rodriguez who is an alleged gang leader known for his treatment of miners.

Local media said the army captured guns and explosives during Saturday's operation.

Four assault weapons, grenades and several light firearms were seized during the incident.

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No soldiers are thought to be among the dead.

Clashes over illegal mines are common in the remote, mineral-rich area near the border of Guyana, with at least 17 people killed in a gang feud there in 2016.

That year, President Nicolas Maduro declared the area a strategic priority, naming it the Mining Arc and declaring war on the hundreds of illegal miners from Venezuela and neighbouring Brazil who try to make a living there.

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Violence has been on the rise in Bolivar as Venezuela’s cash-strapped Government is looking to open up the resource-rich area to foreign investment.

This is amid an ongoing turf war in the lawless area between criminal gangs and the military.